High-accuracy determination of the neutron flux in the new experimental area n_TOF-EAR2 at CERN

A new high flux experimental area has recently become operational at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This new measuring station, n_TOF-EAR2, is placed at the end of a vertical beam line at a distance of approximately 20m from the spallation target. The characterization of the neutron beam, in terms of flux, spatial profile and resolution function, is of crucial importance for the feasibility study and data analysis of all measurements to be performed in the new area. In this paper, the measurement of the neutron flux, performed with different solid-state and gaseous detection systems, and using three neutron-converting reactions considered standard in different energy regions is reported. The results of the various measurements have been combined, yielding an evaluated neutron energy distribution in a wide energy range, from 2meV to 100MeV, with an accuracy ranging from 2%, at low energy, to 6% in the high-energy region. In addition, an absolute normalization of the n_TOF-EAR2 neutron flux has been obtained by means of an activation measurement performed with 197Au foils in the beam.Peer reviewe

Evidence for mass accretion driven by spiral shocks onto the white dwarf in SDSS J123813.73–033933.0

We present high-time-resolution photometry and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the short-period (⁠Porb=80.52min⁠) cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73–033933.0, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Kepler/K2 mission, and the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We also report observations of the first detected superoutburst. SDSS J1238–0339 shows two types of variability: quasi-regular brightenings recurring every ≃8.5  h during which the system increases in brightness by ≃0.5mag, and a double-hump quasi-sinusoidal modulation at the orbital period. The detailed K2 light curve reveals that the amplitude of the double-humps increases during the brightenings and that their phase undergoes a ≃90° phase shift with respect to the quiescent intervals. The HST  data unambiguously demonstrate that these phenomena both arise from the heating and cooling of two relatively large regions on the white dwarf. We suggest that the double-hump modulation is related to spiral shocks in the accretion disc resulting in an enhanced accretion rate heating two localized regions on the white dwarf, with the structure of the shocks fixed in the binary frame explaining the period of the double humps. The physical origin of the 8.5  h brightenings is less clear. However, the correlation between the observed variations of the amplitude and phase of the double-humps with the occurrence of the brightenings is supportive of an origin in thermal instabilities in the accretion disc

Angular correlations in the prompt neutron emission of spontaneous fission of 252^{252}Cf

International audienceNeutron angular distributions in spontaneous fission of $^{252}$Cf are investigated. The CORA experiment, performed at IPHC Strasbourg, aims at elucidating neutron emission mechanisms in the fission process. The experimental setup is composed of the angle-sensitive twin ionisation chamber CODIS for the detection of fission fragments and the DEMON neutron detector assembly. The development of a simulation toolkit based on GEANT4 and MENATE_R is described, adapted as a strategy to investigate the influence of experimental conditions on the observed properties of neutrons emitted. Besides the kinematic neutron anisotropy in the laboratory system due to neutron evaporation from moving fragments, two additional effects are discussed which may have an influence on the angular distributions of neutrons: scission neutrons and dynamic neutron emission anisotropy in the CM system of fragments due to the spin carried by fragments. A new analysis method is presented to disentangle the dynamic anisotropy from the other effects in an independent way. For the dynamic anisotropy only an upper limit could be found. Results for the angular correlation $(\mathrm{n},\mathrm{n})$ between two evaporated neutrons and the correlation $(\mathrm{n},\mathrm{LF})$ between an evaporated neutron and the Light Fragment direction of flight are reported

Fast decay components in the scintillation gases Ar, Ar-N2, Xe, and He-Xe excited by heavy-ion impact

With 13 figs.SIGLEAlso published in Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A (15 Dec 1987) v. 262(2/3) p. 394-402 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Analysis of fission-fragment mass distribution within the quantum-mechanical fragmentation theory

The fission-fragment mass distribution is analysed for the 208Pb(18O, f) reaction within the quantum-mechanical fragmentation theory (QMFT). The reaction potential has been calculated by taking the binding energies, Coulomb potential and proximity potential of all possible decay channels and a stationary Schrödinger equation has been solved numerically to calculate the fission-fragment yield. The overall results for mass distribution are compared with those obtained in experiment. Fine structure dips in yield, corresponding to fragment shell closures at Z = 50 and N=82, which are observed by Bogachev et al., are reproduced successfully in the present calculations. These calculations will help to estimate the formation probabilities of fission fragments and to understand many related phenomena occurring in the fission process

Survey of period variations of superhumps in SU UMa-type dwarf novae. X. The tenth year (2017)

© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Astronomical Society of Japan. Continuing the project described by Kato et al. (2009, PASJ, 61, S395), we collected times of superhump maxima for 102 SU UMa-type dwarf novae observed mainly during the 2017 season, and characterized these objects. WZ Sge-type stars identified in this study are PT And, ASASSN-17ei, ASASSN-17el, ASASSN-17es, ASASSN-17fn, ASASSN-17fz, ASASSN-17hw, ASASSN-17kd, ASASSN-17la, PNV J20205397+2508145, and TCP J00332502-3518565. We obtained new mass ratios for seven objects using growing superhumps (stage A). ASASSN-17gf is an EI Psc-type object below the period minimum. CRTS J080941.3+171528 and DDE 51 are objects in the period gap, and both showed a long-lasting phase of stage A superhumps. We also summarize the recent advances in understanding of SU UMa-type and WZ Sge-type dwarf novae